A scenario for 1/600 scale ACW naval miniatures using Smoke on the Water

After the fall of Mobile, AL, the remaining Confederate warships - CSS Nashville, CSS Morgan, CSS Baltic and the transport Black Diamond - retreated to Blakely, AL. Blakely fell to General Steele's Union troops on April 9, 1865, and the Confederate warships retreated again, this time up the Tombigbee River.

Lacking an adequate port, and running short of supplies, the Confederates negotiated a surrender to the Union Navy that took place on May 10, 1865 under the shadow of the Nanna Hubba Bluffs. The Union Navy sent a small force of vessels under command of Fleet Captain Simpson -- Admiral Thatcher's flag captain -- to take the Confederate surrender. The Union squadron was a unique mix of old and new: The Eads ironclad USS Cincinnati; the double turret river monitor USS Chickasaw; and the tinclad gunboat USS Nyanza No. 41.

Though, historically, the Confederates surrendered, things could have been different. What if they had chosen to fight a desperate battle for their own honor and the death of a hated foe? We take the historical facts and add that twist for our scenario: Honor and Death.

The battle occurs on the Tombigbee River, AL, in May, 1865. The river is approximately 30" wide on the table, with shoals and snags scattered about. There is a slow river current that will push non-moving vessels toward the south end of the river.

The Confederate squadron consists of the casemate sidewheel ironclad CSS Nashville, the gunboats CSS Morgan and CSS Baltic (Baltic has had her armor removed by this point in the war) and the transport Black Diamond. For the purposes of this game, Black Diamond is considered a troop transport with two special boarding parties aboard. The Union squadron consists of the flagship, the Eads ironclad USS Cincinnati (with her late war gun load of two 100# Parrott rifles, three IX" smoothbores, two 30# rifles and six 24# smoothbores). In addition, the Union have the double turret river monitor USS Chickasaw and the tinclad USS Nyanza.

Confederate ships start at the northern end of the river, Union at the southern end with approximately eight to ten feet of river on the tabletop between the sides. The Tombigbee has some good meanders, but the logical meeting area is a large straight stretch of river below the Nanna Hubba Bluffs. The battle continues until one side has completely surrendered, is sunk or disengages.

This scenario is based on material drawn from Paul Silverstone's "Warships of the Civil War Navies," and J. Thomas Scharf's "History of the Confederate States Navy."